Retrieval Saga: Prison Break
by Cydra
Summary: Matt's in trouble. He's been sent to Kryos Prison Facility on a technicality. Not only will he have to deal with the inmates there, but the Empire has something planned for the jail.
1. Life Trials

**Retrieval Saga**

**Prison Break**

**Chapter 1: Life Trials**

Cental Station

Main Brig

Matt was trying to think of ways to keep himself entertained. Being stuck in a cell while waiting for your trial can be so boring. The only other guy in there was a symbiote with a restraining collar holding him to a clone body made for symbiote prisoners. "What are you looking at, Mr. Slimey?" said Matt. The symbiote waggled its tongue at Matt. Matt wasn't that familiar with the etiquette of some aliens, but he knew when he was being mocked. "You're so lucky I can't reach you right now," he said. Matt did see a way. A guard had fallen asleep near the symbiote's cell and had left his plasma stunner on. Matt, with a little flick directed a little bolt into the symbiote, who yelped and glared at him, while he did a innocent expression. Another guard came in and kicked his companion awake. "Traveler, you got some visitors," he said.

Chip walked in with Draco dragging a metal crate behind him. Matt gave the crate a nervous look, especially since it had air holes in it. "What are you guys doing here?" asked Matt. "We're going to help you with your case," said Chip "And we've brought a friend. Experiment 192, Sue, the lawyer experiment." Matt gulped, "Isn't she the one who tried to eat the prosecution at Jumba's trial?" he said, looking in one of the holes. "Don't worry, she's been in the EARWAX group for a while so she's a lot more docile. Draco, think you could wake Sue up?" Draco reluctantly took a broom and poked the straw end through one of the air holes. Matt watched with horrified fascination as Draco had to drag the broom back and when he got it back, it was a lot shorter...and covered in slime. "So...exactly how docile is she now?" he said. As the box opened, he jumped behind his bunk.

"Don't worry, she's nice to her client, but don't let her near your wallet," said Draco as he ripped off one side of the crate. The experiment side wasn't as ugly as Matt had thought. She resembled a large blood-red weasel with sharp fangs. She had a tie-like mark on her stomach and tapered ears, along with two of the blackest eyes Matt has ever seen. "Erm...hello," said Matt, not taking Draco's words seriously. His foot still ached from the last time he had. He waved briefly before hiding again. "May I?" asked the experiment to the guard. He nodded uncertainly and he opened the cell door for her. She walked in and sat on top of the bed Matt was cowering behind. "Hello, my name is Sue, I was designed by Jumba to act as his attorney in legal matters so this case won't be too hard." "Why can't Chip be the lawyer?" he asked slowly. "Well, I could," said Chip, "but my specialty is in scientific matters. Legal issues aren't in my bailiwick." "But they are in mine. And fortunately, Chip has been able to provide me some information that will help your defense," said Sue as she opened her briefcase.

Matt peered. "Hey Chip, I told you to keep your...thing out CPS's private files," he said spotting several classified files and glaring at Chip before shrugging. The symbiote laughed and threw a glob of slime at him, missing and hitting Sue instead. The experiment growled and threw a glob of her own slime back. It didn't seem acidic, but it was apparently extremely uncomforting to touch, judging from the way the symbiote squirmed. Matt watched. "I like her." he said with a smirk.

"Now back to business," said Sue, "It seems that most of the charges against you, from what your friends have told me, can be filed under 'temporary insanity', would you agree with that?" Matt carefully thought of that and said, "We both agree."

"There are also charges of property damage, specifically those of Sy-Yong and the Exo-Gene space station." "That wasn't my fault," said Matt, "It was mostly those destroyers that blew up Sy-Yong and I was running from them. The space station, that was an accident, I was also running for my life and protecting someone."

Sue carried on, "Gross negligence on the Maelstrom star." Matt stayed silent about that except to say, "That was...someone else."

"And also there's the assault charge on Neilsson." When Matt looked nervous, Sue said, "Don't worry, we've prepared for that one." "While I was sorting those files, I came across his registration form," said Chip, "There's a copy of it right there." Matt looked at it. "I KNEW IT! I've only been a dragon for a fortnight and already I hate these Huntsclan smegheads," he said, reading his background. "And there's more," said Chip, "Look at the part where it's signed and count the number of stamps." Matt looked. "Wow...that's a lot of stamps," he said, counting, "That's about 15...so?" "I checked the rulebook and it's missing a few stamps. Not to mention the name of the official whose name is there doesn't have the same handwriting." Matt looked at the form. "Hah...we got him hook, line, and sinker," he said.

"In that case, if there isn't anything else, your trial should be swift and easy," said Sue as she put the papers back into her briefcase, "I will see you in court." Matt shook her paw and was slightly disgusted by the slime that she left on his hand. He settled for throwing it at the now sleeping symbiote, to his pleasure getting a glob right in the guy's throat...or whatever a symbiote had for one.

--

Council Halls.

Matt was grinning happily as he was led towards the defense side of the court. As he walked along he saw Neilsson, wearing a cast on his nose. Matt gave him a smirk for good measure before sitting down. Sue soon arrived, now wearing the upper half of a business suit. She sat down next to Matt and said to him, "Remember, no matter what accusations they use, keep your temper." Matt shrugged. He tended not to get mad, he liked the getting even part better.

"All stand!" called the bailiff. Everyone in the room stood up as a door opened. Three people came through a door, a man, a splitter, and a froglike creature that Matt recognized as the same kind of alien as Grey Matter. "What kind of alien is that?" he whispered to Sue. "That's a Galvan, they're the most intelligent species in the galaxy" she whispered, "They may be small in scale, but they have the corner of most technology markets." Matt nodded. "I met Ben's version of one." he said. "Who?" asked Sue. Matt was about to go on before the Splitter said, "Be seated." Everyone quickly sat back down.

The human stood. "The person on trial is Mercenary Matthew Lynch. Prosecution, your opening statements?" Neilsson walked forward. "This young man is guilty of several charges, including destruction of company property, endangerment of lives, and conspiracy with individuals who are a known threat to the galactic order," he said. His stern demeanor was slightly dampened by the currently nasal quality of his voice. Matt sorely wished for something to hit Neilsson and was shocked when something did. Morph had, earlier at Matt's request, booby-trapped Neilsson's chair which now went off. Matt smirked

As Neilsson cried out in disgust at the disgusting slime that was covering him, the Galvan said, "May I remind you that this is a court of law and it is not April Fool's Day?" Still, he could not hide the amused smirk on his face.

Neilsson glared and carried on. "This so-called professional has caused more problems between him and his sister then he has solved. Sy-Yong is the only one we know of, how many do we not know of?" he said. "My client has told me all of the incidents he has been involved with and has given satisfactory explanations for them," said Sue. Neilsson smirked. "His explanation, you mean," he said with a sneer, "Could he possibly explain why he chose to keep an artifact of obviously magical origin and try to sell it in a pawn shop?" Matt glared. "HEY, IT LOOKED NORMAL!" he yelled. The Galvan glared at Matt till he sat back down, "Sue, control your client or he will be removed." Matt gulped. It wasn't a figure of speech. As Matt sat back down, Sue said, "The crystal in question could have had a similar appearance or energy reading as a nonmagical crystal of value. As my client said, he had no idea that the crystal had any magical values."

Neilsson frowned as the council members nodded. "Fine. Next is the incident with the Maelstrom Star. I believe no clear report was ever admitted," said the human council member. "There's nothing to reported," said Matt firmly, "Someone gave us the wrong address and went to there only to have that meteor storm hit us. The reason I escaped was because I got lucky." Neilsson smirked happily. "I read the report for the ship's check. The damage was more consistent with fire damage then with meteors. Care to explain?" he said, displaying pictures of the damage. "I don't know, they were probably there when I got on." "You flew a ship that was in disrepair," said Neilsson, not showing any belief. "Maybe they had budget cuts," said Matt. Matt continued, "Arkeas and his crew were freelancers. In those days, most freelancers weren't allowed to buy from the mercenary company suppliers." Neilsson glared. "No further questions," he said.

Suddenly they heard a sort of gurgling sound. "He's got a weapon!" cried Neilsson. "That would be my stomach," said Matt, "that stuff they gave me isn't really filling." "The defense requests a short recess for lunch," said Sue. "Request granted," said the splitter council member. The crew met up just outside. "Hah, you think Leyton could get Sue on the payroll? She's ripping Neilsson apart," said Techo with glee. "By the way, what was that slime that was sprayed on Neilsson?" asked Chip. "Don't worry, it was just some unrefined Snootonium," said Draco. "Where'd Morph get that from?" The gang looked at Morph who was studiously inspecting the interior of his nostrils with his finger. "I think I lost my appetite," said Matt. "Mine too," said Chris, as he pushed his sandwich away. "Wait, mine came back," said Matt as he grabbed the sandwich. As Chris attempted to strangle Matt for stealing his sandwich, Neilsson went by, looking surprisingly pleased for a loser. "Eat that while you can Lynch. Your next meal will be prison rations," he said.

"We'll see who's next meal will be prison rations," said Sue as she leafed through her papers, "I don't he has anything he could throw at us without us countering." Matt looked at Neilsson who was talking to someone on his comm. "I dunno...I have a bad feeling about this," he said.

--

When the trial was continued, Neilsson started straight off. "The prosecution calls John Dante to the stand," he said. Matt turned to see Captain Dante strolling in. "I don't believe it," he said. "Is there a reason that you would bring a captain of the Hamstervielian Empire here?" demanded the human council member. "There is, indeed," said Neilsson, "There is one more crime Mr. Lynch has committed that he hasn't revealed to anyone else: homocide." This sent a large amount of buzzing throughout the courtroom.

Matt stood up. "YOU LITTLE ASS! YOU'RE DEAD MEAT!" he screamed, almost reaching Neilsson when a security droid jumped on him. Neilsson wasn't fazed at all. "Now then, I believe that you and your brother were employed by Exo-Gene a few years back." Dante nodded. "Yes, we were head of security at a facility called 'Lab One'," he said. Matt's eyes widened. "Wait, Lab One? Back at..." His voice trailed off. "I'm sure you remember that very well," said Dante, "but for everyone else, let's watch this little video, shall we?" Matt sat back horrified as various grainy holograms displayed his desperate fight against Dante's older brother in the facilities main reactor room. He turned away at the point where Dante ran into the ion blade. It was also where Neilsson cut off the recording. "There we have it," he said, smirking at Sue nastily. "Let's see your little mutant worm you out of that," he mouthed.

"I'm sure my client has a perfect reason for that," said Sue, "Right, Matt? Matt?" Matt didn't respond, he was apparently in shock. "Mr. Lynch, if you don't make a response, your silence will be interpreted as a guilty plea," said the Galvan council member. Matt spoke slowly, "It was an accident. He was insane...he'd already crippled the safeties on the reactor. I grabbed the nearest object...it was his weapon...before I knew it...that happened."

The three council members spoke with each other and then the human said, "We will now consider our verdict." Neilsson couldn't resist smiling at Matt and Sue. "First you, then that freak of a crew," he said before sitting back. A few minutes later, the three council members returned. "We find that the defendant had given reasonable enough excuses for his misdemeanors," said the splitter, "However, we find him technically guilty of manslaughter." Matt simply slumped as the council continued. "Usually manslaughter carries a 5 cycle sentence on a penal colony. But given your...unusual abilities, you will be transferred to Kryos Maximum security for no less then 8 cycles," the human said before saying, "Court dismissed." Sue glared daggers at Neilsson, who looked like his birthday had come early. "However," said the Galvan, "We would like to question Neilsson about his registration form." Suddenly Neilsson's birthday party seemed more like a funeral.

Matt, despite his situation burst out laughing. "Serves you right, smeg features," he called as two security officers headed for him. "Don't worry, Matt," said Chip as he was dragged past him, "We'll find a way to get you out. Just keep your chin up." "Ow, my chin!" said Matt as he was accidentally whacked into a wall. "I'm not sure, but I have a good feeling it has something to do with Splicer's trial coming up," said Techo. "Splicer gets a trial? Why isn't he being sent straight to jail?" said Draco. "He has the right to a fair trial," said Techo simply. "I wonder if Silvia will be here?" wondered Chris out loud, "I wonder what she'd look like in a suit?" Kala glared and kicked Chris on the shin. "I think Matt would tell you to focus, then he'd do this," she said and blasted Chris with a plasma blast.

* * *

There's the first chapter of a new story. This story make seem bleak now, but it'll definitely get better and a lot more interesting later on. There's also going to be some important revelations in this story so you don't want to miss anything. Sue was designed for me by Xelku9, there's a picture of her on his page on deviantART. Keep an eye out for the next chapter and please review.


	2. The New Inmates

**Retrieval Saga**

**Prison Break**

**Chapter 2: The New Inmates**

**Final approach to Kryos Penal Colony**

**Nullspace sector 51-F**

Matt sat on the prison shuttle, wishing for the 15th time that he hadn't had his hands restrained. As a result he was practically at the mercy of the other shuttle occupants, a few of whom he'd helped catch. "So, uh, you guys hear any good jokes lately?" said Matt. The prisoner next to him who he'd addressed was the same symbiote from the court jail. Luckily he was assigned to a different block according to the ID tag on his sonic collar. All Matt had to do was survive till then.

Suddenly Matt sniffed something foul. He wasn't quite sure, but he thought one of the prisoners just broke wind. Judging by the increasing stench and the reaction from the other prisoners, he was pretty sure he was right. The guard got up and strode down the aisle. He was a flame draconian and looked like he had been built rather then born...in the central station shipyards. "Ok, which one of you convicts did that?" he said

"Not me, your honor," said Matt, "I think it came from that Spheroid." The Spheroid glared at Matt and made a rude gesture with one of his tongues before sniffing said tongue. "Oh, my bad. Anyone got a peppermint?" it said. Matt added under his breath, "A whole cargo hauler full?" "Ugh, someone turn on the fan," said another prisoner. Apparently some had delicate noses as they just passed out. The symbiote in particular though looked smug. "There are plus's to being able to dissolve your own nose," he said to Matt, who was trying to knock himself out on the chair in front.

"Keep your pants on, we're almost there," said the guard. "Keep my pants on? I can't take them off with these things on," said Matt, "Not that I would want to." The familiar multicolor view of the shuttle's jump engine vanished to reveal what looked like a planet at first, till you got closer and saw it was huge chunks of barren rock orbiting a glowing core. "Wow, talk about memories," said Matt.

The ship soon landed at one of the disembarking points. "Ok, everyone out!" called the guard. Matt obediently followed the others, wincing as his feet kept getting stepped on. A guy in a NSC colonel's uniform was standing in the docking bay, with NSC elite troopers around. "Good evening. Welcome to my colony. I am Admiral Dezarn and I am also chief warden here. Play by my rules and your stay will be...tolerable," he said.

"Now here are some of the ground rules," said Dezarn, "First of all, the goal of this prison is to accommodate you prisoners until your sentence ends, if ever, so please try to live till the end of that. Therefore, I'd recommend getting along with your inmates. My men will intervene with fights, but only if it gets too out of hand."

Matt sighed and rolled his eyes. The symbiote next to him stepped forward, muttering about being treated like a human to reveal Splicer, surrounded by guards with sonic lances. "And what if we don't play by your ru..." started the symbiote and was incinerated when the admiral pulled a plasma pistol and shot him. "Then we get a lot of free space for more convicts like yourself," said Dezarn simply.

Matt saw Splicer but quickly looked away, "He's not really there. He can't be here. He's too nuts to be here. He'd be at an asylum. He's just a hallucination." As Matt gibbered to himself and his previous shuttle companion was swept up, several guards began sending prisoners to their registered cells. "Splicer, Lynch...this way," said one guard and jumped as Matt screamed and started hugging the shuttles landing ski.

The guards only managed to pry him loose after he left a sizeable dent in it. They dragged him to his cell, with a trail of fingernail-marks behind them. They tossed the two of them into a cell and one of the guards said, "Never seen a guy so reluctant to go to his cell before." "Can't really envy him," said the other, "That cell has a bunch of mold in one corner." Matt seemed to calm down after a few seconds. "Maybe he's only in this section...doesn't mean he's my..." he muttered and stopped at Splicer came in. "This is my cellmate? Great," he muttered. Matt stared, then collapsed on one of the guard's shoulders and started crying. The guard looked at his college and patted Matt on the back. "Erm...there, there?" he said unsure, before pushing Matt off and walking after his sniggering partner.

"So," said Matt slowly to Splicer after a while, "How did you get to be here. I would have thought you'd be sent to an asylum." "Well, you'd think so," said Splicer, "but apparently they have their hands full and they've sent me here until there's enough room." Matt took this in and said, "Let me get this straight, I'm stuck in here for 8 cycles with you as my cellmate?" "Uh-huh." Matt nodded and then grabbed the bars and started yelling at the guards outside. "Let me out! Get me the heck out of here before I kick your rotten heads in! MOMMY!" The first guard looked at his mate. "He's very excitable, isn't he?" he said as they walked off.

--

It was next morning and Matt had gone from hysterical to insane in one night. He'd already tried to disintegrate Splicer 12 times without success. You may have thought that was extreme but Splicer had tried to kill Matt 28 times. In other words, it was a restless night. The guards came to the cell's door and called in, "Ok, you two, time for breakfast." They walked by, with several viral clones following them. Matt and Splicer stared, united in shock. "Erm...did you see that as well?" he said to Splicer. "Heh, so that's where they send all those viral clones," said Splicer. "All of them?" said Matt worriedly. "Well, the ones they got before NegaMorph anyways," said Splicer, "Let's head to the cafeteria, I hope they have chocolate."

Matt slowly walked after Splicer. "Er...I am allowed to plasma control people who attack...right?" he said to one of the escorts. "Do what you have to," said the guard, "Just don't start a food fight. Chef does not like his food being tossed around."

Matt gulped as they emerged into the mess hall. There seemed to be only virus clones. Matt expected this. The last thing the admiral would want would be an outbreak on the colony. As Matt came into view, the room fell silent as all the clones turned to stare evilly. Except for one sitting by himself who waved cheerfully. Matt smiled for the first time in hours that wasn't because of a temporary loss of sanity. He quickly walked over and sat next to the clone that waved. "V-Ace, how ya doing?" he said. "Very fine, thank you, but you might want to change seats." "How's come?" asked Matt. Suddenly a voice behind him said, "Hey pal, you're sitting in my seat." Matt turned and jumped. "Damn, what virus clone are you?" he said to the huge figure in front of him.

What he was looking up at was a combination of several alien body parts that covered nearly every color of the rainbow. Then something clicked in Matt's memory, "Wait a minute, you don't happen to go by the name 'Kevin 11', would you?" The mutant glared. "How did you know that?" he said angrily. Matt grinned. "I think I met your rival once...and didn't some of my crew kick your butt while on leave at home?" he said.

Matt quickly found himself in the large Pyronite left hand. Fortunately, he wasn't trying to burn right then. "You got something to say to me?" growled Kevin as his Petrosapien hand sharpened into a spike. Matt, smirked. "You never heard of me?" he said and managed to get a hand free and pointed a finger at the spike, searing the end off it with some plasma. Matt then thought about the question while Kevin stared and remade the spike. "I think you're a complete idiot, is that a good start? After all, most people stop me from doing THIS!" he said, blasting another plasma burst into Kevin's face, sending him into the table behind him. Matt then made a mistake. He turned away and said to V-Ace. "What a novice..." he started.

Suddenly Matt got covered with Lepidopterran goo. "Ugh, this is so disgusting," said Matt. Then a fireball hit him, igniting the goo and blasting him off his feet. The other clones began cheering and encouraging the two, mainly Kevin, one yelling, "Incinerate him!" Matt heard this as he got up. "Please don't do requests," he said before igniting another plasma orb. "Nobody makes fun Kevin 11 and gets away with it!" said Kevin as his hand became covered in flames. "You remind me of NegaMorph," said Matt, "He's a mutant that has self-esteem issues too." Kevin snapped at that and threw a fireball that Matt easily rebounded back on Kevin with his plasma shield before adding one of his own orbs to the explosion. A hail of crystal shards shot out, nearly ripping Matt apart. "Touchy, touchy. Ever thought about anger management?" Matt said.

Splicer suddenly became interested. "Ah, you guys are having a rough-housing and didn't invite me?" "Beat it, psycho," said Matt, "Can't you see I'm busy?" "Oh, I can take care of that." Splicer jumped on Kevin's shoulders and opened his mouth wide to bite the top half of his head off. A plasma blast melted the floor between the trio and several guards with a warden leading the way were rushing up. "Ok, break it up, you three. You were warned about this, Kevin," said the lead guard.

Kevin ripped off Splicer and said, "But-" "It's my fault, really," said Matt. "I accidentally sat in his seat. I guess we kinda overreacted." The guard glared at Matt. "A good start, Lynch. 24 hours. Solitary," he said and two guards grabbed Matt. Kevin stared as Matt was dragged away, "No one's ever stood up for me before." "Matt's really not a bad guy when you get to know him," said V-Ace, "You just need some time to get used to him."

--

The next morning, Matt was still being watched by the guards in case he 'started more trouble'. "Well, so much for a quiet 8 years," he said to V-Ace. "Well, it's better than being in here for your own protection," said V-Ace. "Yeah, NegaMorph's a real smeghead, isn't he?" said Matt. "Oh I would be so rash to judge him," said V-Ace, "in fact, I pity him a little." Matt looked up. "Uh oh, nutter at 3'o'clock," he said. Kevin was coming past and headed for their table. The guards watching tensed up.

Kevin sat down, not paying any attention to Matt since he was in a different seat now. "Hey Kevin," said Matt in an attempt to sound friendly, "We were just talking about NegaMorph. V-Ace says he actually he pities him a little. Can you believe that?" The local temperature seemed to lower. "Oookay, not much of a talker, fine, shall we just forget yesterday happened?" he said.

"Well if you think about it," said V-Ace, "NegaMorph doesn't really know he's being used for whatever the Emperor has planned. Not to mention underneath all of that is a suffering heart." Matt and Kevin both turned at this. "Go on..." said Matt. "Well, I don't know if you two have heard about this, but have you heard about NegaMorph actually killing someone?" Matt looked thoughtful, "Now that you mention it..."

His thoughts were interrupted when V-Gotchu pinched him in the butt. Matt glared to see a whole bunch of clones, led by the clones he'd met in Area 51 glaring at him. "Oh dear, you're not sore about Nevada, are you?" said Matt, forgetting he was not allowed to fight. He smirked and was about to launch a plasma orb when he spotted the inhibitor that the guards had put on, in case he started another fight. "Oops, erm, let's not do anything rash, guys," he said.

Suddenly a row of crystal spikes rose up out of the floor in front of them. Kevin lowered his Petrosapien hand and said, "Beat it. This guy's with me." The clones grumbled and walked away, clearly disappointed. Matt stared at Kevin. "Erm...thanks man," he said before sitting back down. He shrugged. "If, you know, you ever want your little mutation fixed...I know a few good geneticists," he said. "I don't think it's that simple," said Kevin, "That Omnitrix tangled my DNA up pretty bad. You were saying, V-Ace?"

"Well," continued Ace, "From what I've heard, whenever NegaMorph tries to kill someone, this heart-like part in his nervous system reacts and causes him great pain. I think someone like that couldn't possibly be pure evil." Matt filed this away in his mind and narrowly ducked a splat of sludge. "Then again, some other empire employees..." he said, glaring at the thrower, Splicer who, surprise-surprise, was sitting with the clones who had a few minutes ago been 5 seconds from ripping Matt in two. "I don't know what his problem is," said V-Ace, "and others are downright evil, like Virustoxico or Johnson, but I think some are redeemable. What about Silvia?" Matt nodded, "Yea, her, definitely her." Kevin looked at him and said, "Why so sure?" Matt sighed. "Let's just say I know how she thinks." Something about Matt's tone said 'drop the subject'. That and he was accidentally melting his drink's cup with plasma control without noticing.

--

Back at their cell, Splicer checked if no guards were around before expending a small comm from the sludge on his arm. A familiar face appeared on the screen, Emperor Hamsterviel. "So, you have made it inside?" he said. "Yes sir, though I'd prefer a different cellmate. I'm in position and waiting for commands." "Well, you'll have to wait for a little while longer. It'll take time for the troops to get there." Splicer nodded and expelled another device from his arm. "Getting the bomb to the defense grid mainframe will be hard, they've got at least two elite garrisons here," he said. "I'm sure you can manage," said Hamsterviel, "Now don't call back for a while, in case they might find this frequency." "Aye-aye, sir," said Splicer and hung up. Splicer looked back at Matt and then got onto another frequency. "Release the anvil," he whispered, followed by a 'THUNK' and Matt proclaiming, "OW! What the hell?"

* * *

Look's like Matt's in for an exciting time. He has so many new friends now, the rogue mutant Kevin 11, every Viral Clone that's been captured by the good guys, and the demented Splicer for a roomie, or cellie, who's plotting something. You definitely do not wanna miss the next chapter. Please review.


	3. Messengers in the Bathroom

**Retrieval Saga**

**Prison Break**

**Chapter 3: Messengers in the Bathroom**

The next day didn't quite start pleasantly for Matt. For one thing, his head still ached from that anvil. He was positive that Splicer was responsible, though he denied it. He rolled out of bed, groaning and glared at Splicer in the other bunk. "I hate you so much, you do realize, don't you?" he said. Splicer waggled that disgusting long tongue of his and said, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but I don't have bones at all." "And you're madder than a hatter's convention," muttered Matt. As Matt turned to leave, he said, "Just remind me to booby trap your evening meal, ok?" testing to see if Splicer was actually paying attention.

And today's breakfast seemed to have gone wrong somehow. Normally the rations here were of passable taste and texture, but something seems to have turned into a stone grey glop that smelled like it came from a swamp. Matt turned to Kevin. "What the hell is this stuff? Looks like someone sneezed into the plate." he said before suddenly realizing something and leaning to the side just as a plate of said slop shot by. "I knew it...give prisoners crap to eat and they throw it instead." he said getting under the table. "Food fight!" someone called and pretty soon slop started to fly everywhere. Matt would have joined in, but he doubted he would like being hit with this stuff. "Reminds me of the stuff they used to serve on the Megacruiser," said Kevin. He tossed a flaming ball of the stuff at some viral clones, causing them to scatter. Matt looked around for the guards and saw them taking bets. "That's it, this just sucks, BLEH!" he said as a splat hit him in the mouth. It actually tasted ok, anything would after a sample of Nani's cooking.

The food fight was getting pretty wild until the guards stepped in. "Ok, that's enough," called the captain, "Anyone that threw something has to clean up." "Um, just for the record," said Matt, "I didn't participate in this." The captain gave him one look and said, "Then hit the showers, you smell terrible." Matt waked into the shower room cautiously. He'd heard all kinds of things about what went on in prison shower rooms. "Hey Matt," said a voice from one of the cubicles. He was used to unusual stuff, though he agreed that talking toilets was a new one for him. He carefully opened the door. He looked around and saw nothing. "Hmm, that's odd. Well, as long as I'm here," he said and he started to unzip his pants. Suddenly Morph popped out of the toilet and said, "Hi Matt!"

Matt screamed and on reflex fired a plasma burst. Then he realized who it had been. "Sorry Morph. For heaven's sake, don't sneak up on me...wait...what are you doing in the toilet?" "I'd rather not talk about it," said Morph, "But I have a message from you from Chip." He hit the screen on his belly and the words 'Please Stand By' appeared on it. The screen flickered and Chip's face came into view. Matt looked out into the main toilet area and fired a plasma ball at a clone coming in. A LITTLE PRIVACY, DUDE!" he yelled.

The clone walked away, muttering something about testiness. "Good to see your personality hasn't changed," said Chip. "Um, is there a reason I'm getting a message in the lavatory?" said Matt. "Yes, first of all, it was only private we could get it to you. I doubt the old cake routine would work here. We're currently working on trying to arrange a bailout for you. Although it would have been easier if you had fully explained that 'manslaughter' incident back in court." Matt glared. "What happened to me in my first few years here is MY business," he said, a bit upset before continuing, "But I appreciate the help."

"Well, you'll be happy to know that Neilsson's being brought up on his unofficial employment," said Chip. "Good," said Matt, "that almost makes it worth having Splicer as a cellmate. Oh, I also ran into someone called Kevin 11. Right nutter, but nutter in a nice way...mostly." thinking back to his near-incineration experience. Chip frowned, "Splicer? Splicer's in Kryos with you?" "Yeah, he said that the asylum doesn't have enough room right now," said Matt. "I think he was lying," said Chip, "There have been several people discharged recently from Shadow Rock. I think there should be enough room. I fear this means he was sent to Kryos on purpose." Matt looked thoughtful. "I'm surprised the admiral didn't notice," he said.

"I think this may have something to do with the viral clones," said Chip, "Can you imagine what would happen if NegaMorph assimilates all those clones?" Matt could and it was not a pretty picture. "All out mayhem. I can't go to the warden with this, no way he'd believe me," he said. "You'll have to keep a close eye on him, he's up to something," said Chip, "Oh, and regarding Kevin 11, he's a bit sensitive of being made fun at, so keep that in mind. You better go soon before people get suspicious." Matt nodded and left the stall. Before Morph could duck back down again, another inmate walked in. He looked at Morph and said, "Whoa, and I thought the food was bad before it was eaten." He flushed the toilet, sending Morph down the pipes.

Matt walked back to the canteen. He had to expose Splicer somehow. There was no choice. He waited till only a few people were left then walked over to a guard. "Hey, I need to see the boss," he said. "No one sees the warden," said the guard, "Not nobody, not no-how." Matt grimaced and said, "Oh that is so cliché." "Didn't you go in there to shower?" said the guard. "Let's just say there was a leak," said Matt. "Well use that other one," said the guard pointing, "And don't come back until you've cleaned yourself. I can smell through this helmet."

Matt glared at the guard and walked into the spare bathroom. He realized for the first time that he hadn't had a shave since his trial. He ignited a beam of plasma in his hand and began shaving his stubble off. Just when he'd almost done his reflection began to shimmer. "What the heck?" said Matt. Suddenly a glassy blue eye appeared in the mirror. "Ok, this isn't your average indigestion hallucination," said Matt. Then a zigzagging crack appeared under the eye and a voice from it said, "Hello, Matthew." "Oh, it's you, I am willing to endure 7 years bad luck so say why you're here or go away," said Matt in a tired voice. "Don't worry," said Fiendglass, "I haven't come here to harass... much. Massacrate just wanted to see how the curse has finally came back to roost."

Matt shrugged. "Locked up in a colony with genetic nightmares, I've had worse, much worse. Tell chainsaw brain his cursing needs work," said Matt cheekily. Fiendglass chuckled and said, "You don't recall what the curse was supposed to do, do you?" "If it's about being annoyed in the bathroom, it's definitely working," said Matt. "No," said Fiendglass, "It was supposed to put you into the power of the one who have offended the most." "He's already there," said Fiendglass, grinning enough to split in half. "Who? Splicer? What did I ever do to him?" said Matt. "As if you didn't know," said Fiendglass. "I'm pretty sure I've offended people worse than him." "Gaze into my reflection and see the untruthfulness of your words," said Fiendglass as the mirror shimmered to reveal another image.

It was obviously from Splicer's point of view and was a view from a balcony. Down below he could see himself and his old CPS crew including his sister firing at a horde of symbiotes, retreating to an airlock. He also recognized the large tube-like device he'd left. "He was on Viper station?" Matt said to himself. Matt saw his past self pick up an experimental sonic bazooka and say, "Let's see how they like this." He started firing it at the symbiotes, eradicating them with sonic blasts. The view point suddenly lunged forward as Splicer jumped down towards Matt. Matt looked upward and fired a blast at point-blank range. The view blacked out then came back in time to see the last of Matt's crew escape through the airlock. The tube device, a sonic implosion bomb, began its countdown. The viewpoint headed jerkily towards an escape pod hatch before turning as Splicer obviously got in...in time to see a wave of blue energy blast out from the bomb, ending the view. "Ok, that'll put him on the top of the list," said Matt.

The mirror changed again to show Fiendglass' eye and mouth. "Indeed, not only did you destroy his home and family, but that blast you gave him caused him to become physiscally and mentally unstable. He started rejecting organic hosts in favor of mechanical ones. You made him what he is." Matt glared. "I'm supposed to feel sorry for him? He killed or infected every soul on that station. That's nearly 50,000 people," he said. "Tis his species' nature," said Fiendglass, "But that's not important. What's important is what will happen when he recognizes you as the being that ruined his life." "You mean he doesn't?" said Matt, suddenly realizing how little his life expectancy would be when that occurred. "Not yet, but he will before you leave this prison. Or should I say if." Fiendglass' laughter faded along with his eye and mouth. Matt smashed the mirror muttering, "Smegging undead," before he hopped into the shower. After that, he walked out the bathroom. "The mirror broke," he said to the guard in passing.

* * *

Uh oh, it looks like Matt's in bigger trouble than he thought. Now only is Splicer planning on allowing an invasion fleet in so NegaMorph can assimilate the viral clones, but at at some point, he's going to be after Matt's neck. Matt will have to do some quick thinking to get out of this one. Tune in next time to see how. Please review.


	4. Security Breach

**Retrieval Saga**

**Prison Break**

**Chapter 4: Security Breach**

It was the next morning after Fiendglass's appearance. Matt had not had any sleep as a result and as such, was in danger of falling asleep in his breakfast, which today was some kind of green spaghetti-like food that pulsated. "You alright, man?" said Kevin, prodding him with one of his Vulpimancer fingers. "I've just had some trouble falling asleep last night," yawned Matt. Matt yawned and poked his spaghetti, which squealed and leapt on his face like the facehugger from Aliens.

That woke Matt up properly and he tried to yank the stuff of his face. This was only accomplished with V-Ace's assistance. "I thought this stuff had been cooked," said Matt. V-Ace looked at it. "It was..." he said. Matt and Kevin exchanged look and pushed their plates away, where shortly after the contents bounced away in a valiant bid for freedom. "By the way, do know where Splicer's sitting?" said Matt, "He's not at his usual table."

--

Splicer in question was sneaking along a corridor and into the corridor across from the prison section's weapon system room. As he watched, the door hissed open and two officers walked out. He had only a few seconds. He briefly assumed a more amorphous form and slithered past them. He resumed his more solid state after a couple of yards.

Splicer soon spied the master control terminal. "Just stick a little something here," he said as placed a small device there. The device flickered and a timer started. "And presto, completely defenceless in 5 minutes." The door hissed open behind him and his restraint collar buzzed violently. "What the hell do you think you're doing here, convict?" yelled a guard.

"Oh just setting this place up for the Imperial invasion," said Splicer as he goo-glued the guards to the walls. "Can you watch this thing for me? I want to make sure it blows up at the right time." At that the alarm began to ring. "NOW HEAR THIS. AN IMPERIAL FLEET HAS BEEN DETECTED. LOCKDOWN IN EFFECT!" Splicer slipped away after shoving the goo'ed guard in a weapon locker.

--

Silvia looked at the readout showing the three other dreadnoughts apart from her own, approaching the prison colony. "I don't like this, this is too easy," she said to NegaMorph. "Who cares?" said NegaMorph, "All that matters is getting me in there. That's the entire point of this whole invasion." Silvia ignored his comment, NegaMorph was always edgier than usual when clone-assimilation was involved.

But then something occurred that got their attention. The core of Kryos seemed to glow, up until a beam of pure energy lanced out, hitting a dreadnought at point blank range. When the flash stopped, the dreadnought and half of the one next to it were gone.

"Apparently Splicer isn't completely finished yet," said Silvia. "I knew we should have sent a better agent in there," growled NegaMorph, "That bumbling cyber-slime could spoil everything." "This is Kryos Flight Control. If you want to join your buddies, continue your approach. Otherwise, get lost," said a voice over the radio. "We need to pull back a little," said Silvia, "Give Splicer some more time." NegaMorph's eye flashed red with frustration, "He had better be busy."

--

Splicer was busy. The clones did NOT want to go in lockdown and the troopers were trying to restore order. In the weapon room, the officer in charge looked at the ships. "They're not going. Hit em again," he said, just as the charge went off, overloading the consoles and electrocuting the weapon crew.

"That should take care of the weapons," said Splicer, "but I better take care of the guards to make sure NegaMorph can go about without any interruptions." The explosion knocked out the lighting not that it mattered. The guards panicked when the power fell and began shooting wildly at anyone. "Why can't I have had a peaceful incarceration?" said Matt, dodging blasts.

"The clones are running amuck!" "We can't let any ships land here!" "Who blew up the console?" The guards' confused cries didn't spare them from Splicer blasting and splatting. Splicer finished breaking a guard's neck and turned to see Matt running round the corner. "YOU!" they both shouted. "Are you nuts? Wait, don't answer that, I know the answer," said Matt, picking up a dead guard's rifle and regretting it when the gun's security shocked him.

"You're too late, buddy boy," cackled Splicer, "The security system's disabled and NegaMorph will be here any minute to suck up the clones. There's nothing you can do." "I could just give you a dose of static like on Viper...oh crap," said Matt, putting his hand over his mouth when he realised his slip-up. He could almost hear the Doom Weapons laughing to death.

"Viper? What are you talking about? I don't know any place called Viper. Wait a minute..." The symbiote's helmeted brow furrowed, "It's coming back... Kinda blurry... I was part of a colony on that station, we were attacked by humans, they blew up the station, and one of them him me with a..." Suddenly Splicer's visor flashed with rage. "YOU! You're the one that did it! You destroyed my home and family! You ruined my body and mind! I'll kill you! I'LL KILL YOU!!!" Matt could only scream as the symbiote lunged at him, his mouth opening to rip his head off.

Matt had just mentally consigned himself to the morgue when a flaming fist smashed into Splicer's mouth with a 'hssss' noise. Matt turned to see Kevin and V-Ace. "HE'S MINE! GET YOUR OWN VICTIM!" roared Splicer, barely coherent. Kevin fired several fireballs at Splicer and said, "No one here's hurting him. That includes you." Splicer roared in defiance and would have minced Kevin if it weren't for the unbearable heat coming from his left arm.

A secondary explosion was heard in the direction of the prison's launch bay. "Alert. NegaMorph detected in zone. Response crew to launch bay," said a voice over the intercom.

--

Negamorph was quickly learning that fighting NSC Colonial Defence Corps and mercenaries was one thing, but fighting the NSC's military cream was quite another. The prison response teams were hand picked from Nullspace teams that regularly faced things that made NegaMorph look like a kitten by comparison. However, most kittens aren't capable of shapeshifting or firing fangs that cause mutations upon penetration. However, NegaMorph wasn't too concerned. As soon as he got a power boost from some clones, he'll able to take these guys on with no problem.

Until then, he was dodging various rounds as his droids tried to punch through. A lightning shot scattered the defence when it hit a refuelling station, sealing the alcoves the troops were in off. Silvia lowered her fist and smirked. "Can't you do anything yourself?" she teased as two demo droids blew the prisons blast doors down. "I am capable of plenty things by myself!" snapped NegaMorph, "I don't require the charity of others to assist me all the time. These guards were just unexpected, that's all."

Silvia rolled her eyes and looked at the corridor to the prison block. "Bon appetite," she said.

--

Matt looked as Splicer continued to glare before turning to leave. "This isn't over, Lynch," growled Splicer, "You owe me big time for what you did and I intend to collect." Matt shrugged. "I'll be waiting," he said as Splicer ran off. He turned to the others. "We have to go. If NegaMorph's here, then we're all in trouble."

"You've got that right," said Kevin, "I'm making a break for it while everyone's too distracted." As Kevin was turning to leave, Matt said, "By the way, why'd you save me?" "Because that's what pals do," said the mutant and he used his Kineceleran power to run off. Matt turned to V-Ace. "I have weird friends," he said before turning to head back to the block. "Even though they'll probably try to eat me now the prison guards are all goo'ed, I can't leave em to be lunch, nobody deserves that," he said.

V-Ace nodded and said, "It's our duty to help those in need." Matt was about to comment when a tremor shook the room. Suddenly a crack appeared in the floor and Matt fell down into it before either could respond. Matt hit his head against something and everything went black.

* * *

Well things certainly aren't looking good. The Imperial fleet has arrived and NegaMorph's getting ready to absorb all of the prison's captive viral clones. And to top it off, both Splicer and Kevin 11 have escaped. The former swearing vengeance, the latter promising friendship. Will Matt be able to stop NegaMorph? Find out in the next and final update of this story. When that will happen is somewhat sketchy as my primary writing computer is unable to connect to the Internet at the moment. Until then, please review.


	5. Feast of the Damned

**Retrieval Saga**

**Prison Break**

**Chapter 5: Feast of the Damned**

Matt opened his eyes slowly. "Ooh, my head," he said, "How far did I fall?" He looked up and saw the hole as a distant circle. "Ouch..." he said before using a trick Jake had taught him during the Dragon Games, switching his eyes to his draconic ones. He'd fallen into an old storage room from back when Kryos had been a mining colony. Old seismic drills and long forgotten laser saws lined the walls alongside dusty mining drones.

"Hmm, this could be useful," said Matt, "If I can't get these things to drive off those imperial thugs, I can at least dig myself out of here." The old door had been sealed with a simple plastic covering. A few whacks with an old laser drill quickly demolished it. It turned out he wasn't far from the canteen.

"Now let's see, if I were an attempt to clone a genetic experiment gone wrong gone horribly wrong and I had a craving for disease-spreading replicas of other genetic experiments, where would I go?" Several screams from a certain direction quickly drew his attention. He ran for the canteen, running in and bumping into a fleeing clone.

It was the Viral Clone of Squeak, and he looked absolutely terrified. "Help! Help! You gotta save me! I heard this big boom, there was a lot of ruckus, me and the other clones thought, 'Hey, let's make a break for it.' But then this creepy guy came and he started attacking us and then-" Matt noticed something long and black coming around the corner and quickly got out of the way as it plunged into V-Squeak's back. The squealing clone was dragged back round the corner. Matt slowly looked round, already having a good idea of the slime thing's owner.

As V-Squeak was being dragged, the flesh around his wound was turning into black liquid, which was apparently being sucked out of him. It didn't take long for his entire body to be converted and quickly sucked into the long black thing, which Matt now recognized as NegaMorph's tail.

Matt walked out into view. After all, he wasn't a clone and if he could keep NegaMorph talking, the NSC would get him. Sadly, he saw this wasn't true when he saw the dead NSC troopers lying near Negamorph. "Wait, that makes no sense," said Matt, "I thought V-Ace said that NegaMorph couldn't kill anyone." "He can't but I can," said a voice right behind him.

Matt turned to see Silvia with her ion staff out, pointing it at Matt at about head height. "This isn't visiting hours, sis," said Matt cheekily, unable to resist despite the situation. "You're not in a real position to make insults," said Silvia, "There's an Imperial battalion here that'll readily gun you down if you weren't wanted alive. But I don't think you've been alerted to the price Hamsterviel has put on your vocal cords."

Matt smirked. "Is he still sore over my escape? That's nice to hear...at least you dun fly off the handle when I call you 'sis'," he said. "I was getting to that," said Silvia as she charged up her ion staff. Matt gulped and backed up. "So...I'm not a clone...can't I just go?" he said, planning top go find V-Ace and then an escape pod in that order.

"I don't that'll be an op-" Silvia was cut off when some floor panelling from the story above crashed down and buried her. "Huh, I have some positive karma left after all," said Matt. Matt jumped over the pile, taking time to nab her staff as he passed. "See ya, NegaMorph...I hope you get indigestion," he said before running for it in the direction of the cell blocks.

It wasn't a pretty sight. The area was largely devoid of life and there weren't any clone bodies to be found. Matt searched each cell and was about to give in when he heard a groan from a collapsed tunnel. It was V-Ace. A support beam had fallen on him. "Ace...Hold very still," he said, aiming with the staff before neatly slicing the beam in two.

"Ok, now let's get out of here," said Matt. There was a loud explosion as a nearby wall was blown apart. NegaMorph stepped through the hole he made and said, "That clone's not going anywhere." Matt glared. "I warned you what would happen...you're dead," he said and tried to cause NegaMorph's plasma particles to ignite. Nothing happened. "What the hell?" said Matt and settled for aiming a slash at Negamorph's head instead.

NegaMorph caught it with surprising ease. "I'm not that easy to kick around anymore," he said, "I'm much more powerful than before and I intend to keep rising. Now hand over that clone." Matt glared. "You'll have to kill me first," he said coldly before trying a different approach and adding, "You know people like Hamsterjerk are as trustworthy as chocolate hammers...as soon as you're no longer useful, you'll be dead," he said before adding. "Anyway...I bet Leyton would give you a job if you turned over a new leaf...on Thursdays, its donut day at HQ."

NegaMorph blinked and said, "That's pretty touching... if you meant a single word of it! I know what you think of me! Everyone thinks of me the same way: some accidental creation with no purpose and no place. Well, I'm carving my own place out and I think assimilating viral clones is good enough a purpose. Now out of my way before I rip your arm off."

Matt refused to move. "No...I think you're an idiot who couldn't spot a conspiracy if it shot him up the...OOF!" he said as NegaMorph knocked him aside. "I've had just about enough of your mouth," he yelled. "I'm gonna rip out your vocal cords and give them to Hamsterviel on a silver platter." "Don't be…so blind," said Matt. "I SAID SHUT UP!" roared NegaMorph as his clawed hand plunged downwards.

Matt rolled to the side, narrowly missed by the clawed hand. "You don't think I've been used in my time?" he said angrily, holding the staff defensively. NegaMorph sent a beam of negative energy down the staff, causing it to shut off. NegaMorph was about to charge at Matt when he felt some grab one of his dorsal spines. He looked over his shoulder to see V-Ace holding it.

"Ace...let go." yelled Matt, shaking the staff to reactivate it. He knew the trick wouldn't work again, ancient tech like the staffs were too clever for that but first he needed it to damn well work. "NegaMorph, there is more to you than this," said V-Ace, "Power and perfection is not a true purpose. Can you not see that Hamsterviel is taking advantage of your insecurities?" NegaMorph's eyes flashed red with rage and with a roar, his tail lashed out. Matt watched in horror as the tail went into V-Ace's back and the clone began to vanish. He didn't know what to say...

"Matthew," gasped V-Ace, "Hamsterviel plans to do something with NegaMorph. Don't blame NegaMorph for it. You must stop Hamsterviel before it's too late." Then his head was consumed into the black liquid and his body started being sucked into NegaMorph. "What's that fool talking about?" said NegaMorph, "Power and perfection is a purpose. I'm not finished yet. I'll assimilate every viral clone and nobody will belittle me. Nobody! NOBODY!"

He stopped when the ion staff's blade went into his chest. By no means a killing blow, but it would definitely slow him down. "I'm still here," said Matt coldly. NegaMorph smirked and hit Matt with a triple left hook to the chest. It felt like a trio of sledgehammers that threw Matt right across the room. "You don't scare me," said NegaMorph as he removed the staff like one would remove a splinter, "I've just got one more active clone left to find here and a couple pods and I'll be leaving her…With a piece of you."

Matt backed up. "I'm not going to let you...don't make me fight you," he said, before concentrating and changing to his dragon form. "Is that your best? I'm not impressed," said NegaMorph before sending a powerful beam of negative molecular energy through the mouth near his left arms.

Matt blocked it with his wings before blasting back with a fireball. "Don't you just hate magic?" he said, grinning, before blasting some more flames at NegaMorph and pinning him back with the force. "No...that's my best," he said before sending some more power into a final blast that knocked NegaMorph through the wall

As NegaMorph was getting back up, he heard a voice say, "Well, well, if it isn't the most pathetic thing to come out of the imperial laboratories." NegaMorph looked to see V-Heckler standing nearby. Matt turned. "Run, you idiot!" he yelled before lunging at NegaMorph, claws out.

As NegaMorph was fending him off, V-Heckler commented, "Pretty sad, isn't it? This guy's got most of the viral clones in him and he's still a loser." "I'm not pathetic!" yelled NegaMorph. "Well duh, of course you are. And you're not very attractive to boot." "That's enough!" yelled NegaMorph and ceized V-Heckler with his hand-mouth.

V-Heckler struggled to get out NegaMorph's grasp, still calling out muffled insults. "You've got a big mouth," said NegaMorph, "but mine's bigger. And you've got something I need." V-Heckler was then sucked now NegaMorph's arm, similar to a boa constrictor.

Matt roared and leapt on NegaMorph's back, blasting him constantly with flames till a bolt of lightning hit him in the back. Silvia climbed through the hole, looking angry. "Little smeghead, where'd he put my ion staff?" she said.

NegaMorph took advantage of this distraction to try to sense the remaining clone pods. He soon detected them not far off. He ran out of the room and into the hallway, where he saw a guard holding a container of dehydrated viral clone pods. "I'll take that," said NegaMorph as he slashed the container open and caused the pods to stick to him and melt into his body.

The guard ran off as fast as he could when he saw this. Matt came around to see Silvia aiming at him. "Oh smeg..." he said. Luckily for Matt, several NSC guards ran round the corner and fired at Silvia. She quickly dispatched them with a lightning bolt and turned back...to see the area where Matt had been a few minutes before.

--

Matt ran through the corridors in the direction of the main hanger. He'd have to get out of here. Suddenly Matt felt a large spike of energy in the area. Suddenly a pillar of red energy blasted a hole through the floor and NegaMorph flew out. "Get ready, Lynch," said NegaMorph, "Cause I've got less than a hundred clones to go and it's time for an upgrade!" Matt backed up. He'd lost his dragon form a few minutes ago but he had found a sonic cannon with no security encoding. "What do you mean by 'upgrade'?" he said.

NegaMorph's form bulged slightly and started to change. It wasn't a total metamorphosis, but the changes were noticeable. His arms grew longer and his left hands grew more defined. His left arms also became closer to the left part of his body, making it appear as if they grew from one abnormal elbow with a mouth in it. His torso widened and thickened somewhat. The toes on his two feet on his right leg became more like claws while the rest of the leg became more defined. His center leg also became more definite and not as wobbly as before, the foot now having firmer toes. The tail remained about the same except the spike in the middle shrunk a bit. Then his head took more normal proportions while the eyes in the middle of his face rearranged themselves into a slightly more orderly pattern. The most notable change came when part of his back bulged and then another spine sprang out, between his left top spine and his robotic tentacle.

Matt looked at the still asymmetrical, but less chaotic-looking, NegaMorph and said, "Okay, but that doesn't really prove too much." "Are you kidding?" said NegaMorph, "This is a mere indication of how much more stabilized I am. And with it comes enhancement of all my powers and skills plus some new ones too." He flexed his dorsal appendages and added, "And having an evened-out flight pattern's nice too."

"Forgive me if I'm not impressed," said Matt as he fired his sonic cannon. NegaMorph effortlessly avoided the blast and before Matt could counter, seized Matt with his three left arms. "I don't expect you to be impressed," said NegaMorph, "But I bet Hamsterviel will be, when I present your vocal cords, tongue, and heart on a silver platter." The mouth on his right arm opened wide as a long metal spike popped out. He held Matt up as he prepared to deliver the killing blow.

Suddenly, Matt distinctly heard the sound of a heart beating loudly. Then NegaMorph was apparently covered in sparks of red electricity that didn't hurt Matt. NegaMorph dropped and staggered in pain, clutching at his torso which was apparently bothering him. Matt noticed that there was a flashing red heart shape right in the center of his chest, slightly above the N-mouth. 'He really does have a heart,' he thought. NegaMorph grimaced and said, "We'll call this a draw. But next time will be more decisive." He vanished into his shadow and sped off, leaving Matt alone.

Matt blinked and said, "Well, as long as I'm here, I might as well..." "Hold it right there!" commanded a voice. Matt looked to see several guards coming through a doorway. "We may have suffered an imperial invasion, had every clone here assimilated, and two breakouts, but we will not lose every prisoner here," said the captain and Matt was quickly put in cuffs. Matt sighed and said, "Well, as least I have all this extra space to myself."

----------------

Some time later, Matt was back in his cell. It wasn't nearly as badly damaged as the others, but Matt tried as often as he could to stay away from the large crack in the ceiling. Now that Splicer had flown the coop, it was actually kind of peaceful there. And he still had less than eight years to serve in here.

Suddenly the guard knocked on the door and said, "You've got visitors." Matt turned to see Kala, Sue, and Chris coming through the door. "Guys, what are you doing here?" asked Matt. "We taking you home," said Kala. "What?" "We've managed to deliver the proper evidence in order to clear your conviction," said Sue, "First of all, Neilsson has an intense dislike for dragons, so his evidence can be counted as prejudiced. Also, we managed to pull aside Captain Dante and get the real version of the story out of him." "You didn't use too much force, did you?" asked Matt. "Not much above a lie detector," said Chris. "Pity."

"And with your charges clear, you're free to go," said Kala as she hugged Matt. "That's great," said Matt, "Hope the warden won't be too disappointed." "He mentioned something about closing this part for renevations anyways, so I don't you'll be missed too," said Chris. "Then let's get the heck out of here," said Matt. "Oh, and there's someone who really missed you while you were gone," said Kala. Suddenly Chupy the chupacabra scampered through the door, hopped up on Matt's lap, and started licking his face. "Ah, I missed you too, now cut it out. Wait a minute, that's not licking." Matt screamed and tried to yank Chupy off his face. "Ah, a boy and his pet, isn't there a more touching scene?" said Chris.

* * *

There's the last chapter. Matt's free from jail and we now know the secret of how NegaMorph assimilates the viral clones. By the way, NegaMorph's new form is like the second picture of him on my deviantART account. The next story should be coming soon so keep an eye out for it. Please review.


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